Carry on Sergeant (1958) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Sergeant Grimshaw wants to retire in the flush of success by winning the Star Squad prize with his very last platoon of newly called-up National Servicemen. But what a motley bunch they ... See full summary » Director: a list of 30 titles created 05 Nov 2011 a list of 31 titles created 26 Jan 2015 a list of 28 titles created 25 May 2015 a list of 31 titles created 16 Jul 2015 a list of 30 titles created 09 Dec 2015 Title: Carry on Sergeant (1958) 6.3/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin.

Set in Haven Hospital where a certain men's ward is causing more havoc than the whole hospital put together. The formidable Matron's debut gives the patients a chill every time she walks ... See full summary » Director: Gerald Thomas The Helping Hands agency employs some very strange people to perform some very strange jobs! Even the simplest of tasks get bungled by the incompetent but lovable staff, as they get given ... See full summary » Directors: Gerald Thomas, Ralph Thomas Stars: Kenneth Connor, Sidney James, Charles Hawtrey With a flu epidemic running rife, three new bumbling recruits are assigned to Inspector Mills police station. With help from Special Constable Gorse, they manage to totally wreck the ... See full summary » Director: Gerald Thomas Pupils run amok at Maudlin Street School in an attempt to hang on to their headmaster. He has applied for a new job, but the students like him and don't want to lose him. They concoct a ... See full summary » Director: Gerald Thomas Captain Crowther's lot is not a happy one! Five of his crew have to be replaced and at such short notice before the voyage begins there isn't much to choose from. Not only does he get the ...

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See full summary » Director: Gerald Thomas The Wedded Bliss computer dating agency aims to bring together the lonely hearts of Much-Snoggin-in-the-Green. Its owner, Sidney Bliss, has enough complications in his own love life, but ... See full summary » Director: Gerald Thomas The time of the French revolution, and Citizen Robespierre is beheading the French aristocracy. When word gets to England, two noblemen, Sir Rodney Ffing and Lord Darcy take it upon ... See full summary » Director: Gerald Thomas Edit Storyline Sergeant Grimshaw wants to retire in the flush of success by winning the Star Squad prize with his very last platoon of newly called-up National Servicemen. But what a motley bunch they turn out to be, and it's up to Grimshaw to put the no-hopers through their paces. Written by Simon N. McIntosh-Smith <Simon.N.Smith@cs.cf.ac.uk> See All (20) » Taglines: Un-Ready, Un-Willing and Un-Able! Meet the riotous recruits who rule Britannia...and do battle with the enemy (their sergeant)!

See more » Genres: 15 August 1958 (UK) See more » Also Known As: Ist ja irre - Kopf hoch, Brust raus! See more » Filming Locations: First film of James Villiers . See more » Goofs When Captain Potts pins the chart to the training progress board, the board has the intake as No.29 but when the prize giving is announced near the end of the film it is announced as the prize giving for the 60th intake See more » Quotes (London) – See all my reviews I have liked this movie since I was at least eight and that's been twelve years and still I like it. As a kid I liked most of the Carry On films but now have become browned off by the majority except for Sergeant. Sergeant is a heart-warming tale featuring William Hartnell -the first Doctor Who and with excellent bit roles such as in The Yangste Incident and his last platoon. It features some of the well known Carry On faces such as Terry Scott and Kenneth Connor who is my favourite in this one as Private Strong. Excellent lines that still make me laugh and scenes that do likewise. Also starring the late great legend that was Bob Monkhouse.

This is in my opinion the greatest of the Carry On movies and right up there with comedies of the time such as Doctor in the House, Wrong Arm of the Law and The League of Gentlemen. 13 of 13 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Carry on Sergeant (1958) Starring: William Hartnell, Shirley Eaton, Eric Barker - Three Movie Buffs Review Reviewed on: May 3rd, 2013 Bob Monkhouse and Kenneth Connor in Carry On Sergeant. The Carry On films are Britain's longest running film series, comprising 31 films from 1958 to 1992. They are low-budget comedies, featuring a regular troupe of actors, whose humor is based largely on innuendo and double-entendre, with the humor becoming slightly more raunchy as the series progressed. By today's standards however, the jokes are all rather mild and often seem quaint. This is particularly true of Carry On Sergeant, the first film in the series, before the series formula had been perfected.

British institutions are often the target of the films' humor and here the jokes are aimed at National Service, which didn't end in Britain until 1960. The plot is simple and rather silly, while also being slightly more sentimental than the later films would become. The story takes place over the 10 weeks of basic training for a batch of new recruits in the army, beginning on their first day and ending when they graduate from their training. The recruits are assigned to Sergeant Grimshaw, played by William Hartnell, 5 years before he would become the first actor to enter the Tardis as the title character in Doctor Who. Grimshaw is retiring and these are to be the last troops he trains. He makes a bet with a fellow sergeant that his new platoon will take the top prize following their training, but naturally, his squad is made up of misfits and ne'er-do-wells. Members of the squad include Charlie; a new recruit who received his call-up papers on his wedding day, Horace; a horrible hypochondriac, Peter Golightly; who lives up to his name and who is obviously supposed to be gay, James; an upper-class effete, and Andy; a guitar playing rock-n-roller.

Grimshaw does his best to do what he can with this motley crew, deciding that his best option is to use psychology on them rather than berate them. However, it doesn't take long for him to realize that he doesn't stand much chance of winning his bet unless a miracle happens. The jokes and humor are all rather gentle and good natured, but still often quite funny nevertheless. Carry On regulars Kenneth Connor as Horace and Kenneth Williams as James, provide many of the film's biggest laughs, as does Charles Hawtrey as Peter Golightly. Hawtrey plays Golightly as a gay stereotype, but he's effectively funny anyway. One seemingly unintentional joke is how all of the actors seem to be in their 30s, rather than the more appropriate age of 18-21. There's even a touch of farce to some of the jokes, such as when newlyweds Charlie and his new bride--played by Shirley Eaton of being painted gold for James Bond fame--try to sneak into a room on the base to consummate their wedding and end up in the room of Sergeant Grimshaw. As I said, it's all a touch silly, but still manages to amuse.

This is a modest little film, running less than 90 minutes. Although it's rather amusing and quite enjoyable, it hardly seems like the birth of something that would become a British institution, but that's exactly what it spawned. Following this movie, there would be 1 or more Carry On films each year for the next 20 years, with one final film produced in 1992. Carry on, indeed. Did you enjoy Scott's review? +8 Reviewed on: June 5th, 2013 William Hartnell and Charles Hawtrey in Carry on Sergeant I agree with Scott that viewed today, Carry on Sergeant contains gentle humor, but when it was first released, I imagine it was considered a bit mature. One plot line after all is a newlywed couple trying to fornicate. It is easy to see how this could become a series and lead to more adult situations. The humor is derived from the varied collection of recruits who worry the sergeant upon his first inspection. Golightly notes, "The Sergeant doesn't seem to like us. I wonder why?" Golightly is an occasional scene stealer.

As Scott wrote, he is clearly intended to be a homosexual but the jokes are based as much on his incompetent abilities as his effete manners. I will leave it to Patrick to decide how offensive the stereotype is. I recall from my time in the service that requests and permissions were written on small pieces of paper called "chits." This comes into play during one scene where a man pulls out a wad of them, encouraging another to state, "You're just a heap of chit." Yeah, it is a give away of a joke but Carry on Sergeant does have some good lines. During bayonet practice, one soldier asks, "Don't you think this is a trifle out of date in a world bristling with H-Bombs, Sergeant?" Not all of the jokes work equally well. The physical humor being the more juvenile. The two men running in and accidentally spraying everyone with fire extinguishers is the most obvious. How easy is it to predict how badly Golightly will do whenever he comes across a muddy hole of water? Carry on Sergeant not only became a successful film series in England, but some American made films can be traced back to it as well.

Both Private Benjamin (1980) and Stripes (1981) owe a nod to this film. It also helped to explain the scene in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983) where Michael Palin yells at some recruits about "Marching up and down the square." Clearly they are poking fun of this film series as much as they are the actual military. Reviewed on: June 5th, 2013 Kenneth Williams in Carry On Sergeant. As long as we're talking gay stereotypes, I thought the upper-class effete James was much more of one than Peter Golightly. Golightly is a prissy, inept, daydreamer but he comes across as completely asexual to me, whereas James, on the other hand, seems more likely to be a homosexual. Just listen to his dialogue. When the company commander is inspecting the troops he asks James for his rank. He replies snidely, “Well, that's a matter of opinion.” He then goes on to complain about his uniform, “Look at the suit they've given me. Look at this.

(pointing to his hat (see photo)) Plopped on my head without even the pretense of fitting.” Later on when told he's standing like he's pregnant James quips, “Wouldn't surprise me after the way I've been mucked about.” To me he's far more of a gay stereotype than Peter Golightly, who, by the way, gets a big laugh in the scene where he alone keeps marching after halt is called. In explanation he says, “I'm sorry. I was miles away. You know how it is sometimes.” Something about the way he says it just cracked me up. Whether or not either character was meant to be gay (or just very English) they can both certainly be categorized as sissies in their speech, behavior, and mannerisms. Given the decade, however, I didn't find either characterization offensive and both Charles Hawtrey and Kenneth Williams are very funny. The humor in Carry On Sergeant is very much like a situation comedy. It is a series of short comic scenes and the happy ending is never in doubt. Scott mentioned that the series got less sentimental as it went along. I rather enjoyed the sweet and gentle humor on display here. The double-entendres are all quite innocent.

About as vulgar as it gets is when the hypochondriac says he passed the physical examination because he has two of everything you're supposed to have two of. You would never have heard a testicle joke in a Hollywood movie in 1958. While not a great movie, Carry On Sergeant is an amusing little British comedy. It was cheap to produce and turned a tidy profit so it's easy to see why it launched such a successful and long running franchise. Did you enjoy Patrick's review? +6 Carry On, Sergeant (Film) - TV Tropes Carry On, Sergeant You need to login to do this. Get Known if you don't have an account Share YMMV Carry On, Sergeant is a 1958 British black-and-white Summer Blockbuster that began the popular Carry On film series, which was known for its Universal-Adaptor Cast of recurring comic actors. It starred Charles Hawtrey , William Hartnell , Kenneth Williams , Shirley Eaton, Kenneth Connor , Eric Barker and Bob Monkhouse.

Many claim that the title came from the phrase that the army office would say when misspoken (the US Army equivalent would be "As you were"), however, it's more likely that this film was trying to reference the popular 1957 comedy movie Carry On Admiral. (Funnily enough, Carry On series regular Joan Sims appeared in that movie, but didn't show up in the Carry On film series until this movie's sequel Carry On Nurse .) Considering that Sergeant was the first movie in the franchise, no one would've known of the success that it would become; the average user that had seen films from the rest of the series before this one would expect the regular cast members like Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey to be the leading actors. This isn't exactly the case. Sergeant stars Bob Monkhouse as a man named Charlie Sage, who receives National Service recruitment letters minutes after his wedding to new wife Mary (Eaton). He reluctantly turns up at the base and meets hypochondriac Horace Strong (Connor), harmless yet scatterbrained Peter Golightly (Hawtrey) and the obnoxious university graduate James Bailey (Williams).

They are assigned to the calm Sergeant Grimshawe (Hartnell), who is secretly in competition with a rival sergeant over winning an award for the best platoon. He doesn't think that the ignorant men should be verbally abused when they do wrong — unlike the smug and devious commanders Captain Potts (Barker) and Corporal Copping ( Bill Owen ), who seem to relish roaring at the hopeless men every minute. Hilarity Ensues . Tropes included are: Adorkable : Horace, the first of many such characters in the Carry On films played by Kenneth Connor. Despite being a clumsy hypochondriac, he is good-natured and an object of audience sympathy. Armed Farces : The new recruits are an assortment of good-natured but bumbling buffoons, snobs, and hypochondriacs, although they get themselves shaped up by the end of the film. Artifact Title : The title of the film being a real catchphrase from the army. Call to Adventure : Charlie getting his recruitment mail, moments after his wedding to Mary. The Cameo An uncredited Terry Scott as SGT O'Brien in a one-scene wonder.

Hattie Jacques, at the time best known for a radio career spanning over a decade and later to become a Carry On regular, appears as a medical officer named Clark. Cloudcuckoolander : Peter Golightly is the first of many such Carry On characters to be played by Charles Hawtrey. When he doesn't rattle off his name, rank, and number quickly enough to satisfy Captain Potts, the officer snaps, "Slow! Slow!" To which Golightly eagerly responds, "Quick quick, sir!", as though reciting dance steps. Drill Sergeant Nasty : Grimshawe is a downplayed example of this, trying calmer methods than usual in what is going to be his last squad. Corporal Copping fits the role to a T, however. A Father to His Men : SGT Grimshawe could be this, in contrast to Potts and Copping's Drill Sergeant Nasty . Happily Married : Charlie and Mary, even though they've been married for an afternoon. Hypochondriac : Horace, who is devastated when Medical Officer Clark runs out of patience and has him thoroughly examined by a group of specialists, all of whom pronounce him one of the healthiest individuals they've ever seen.

Ironic Name : Horace's surname is Strong. He believes he is anything but, and is a regular visitor to the camp's medical office (to the mounting frustration of Medical Officer Clark). Military Academy : The movie in a nutshell. National Service was an actual military training system that all young men in the UK had to do after leaving high school (or a higher form of education). It is argued whether it deceased in the middle or the end of the 1950s. Ragtag Bunch of Misfits : The platoon of amateurs. Several promotional material refers to them as this. The Rival : SGT Grimshawe to SGT O'Brien. Small Name, Big Ego : James believes he deserves better treatment because he went to university. The army base is having none of this, although an offhand remark indicating some faith in Captain Potts as an officer spares him from being put on a charge for insolence. CPT Potts: You. CPT Potts: Who are you!? James: James Bailey, B.Sc. Economics. CPT Potts: Your number! James: I'm not proud of it, it was given to me! I earned my degree.

CPT Potts: Your rank! James: Well, that is a matter of opinion. CPT Potts: (angrily indicating his epaulettes) Do you see this!? James: You've nothing to complain about, look at the suit they've given me! Smug Super : CPT Potts and CPL Copping can be seen as this, whereas Grimshaw wants to treat the drafted men with respect. Spell My Name with an "S" : The distributing media don't know whether to write Hartnell's character's surname as either "Grimshaw" or "Grimshawe". Neither does the film itself, as the former spelling is used on the door of his quarters, and the latter is used on the chart showing the progress of his squad.

What a Carry On: Carry On Sergeant (1958)/ Carry On Nurse (1959)/ Carry On Teacher (1959)/ Carry On Constable (1960) ~ Reviews | George's Journal What a Carry On: Carry On Sergeant (1958)/ Carry On Nurse (1959)/ Carry On Teacher (1959)/ Carry On Constable (1960) ~ Reviews April 23, 2015 tags: 1950s , 1960s , Carry On films , Charles Hawtrey , Hattie Jacques , Kenneth Williams , Shirley Eaton , Sid James , William Hartnell . Right then, let’s get down to it (oo-er, missus!). Yes, as promised in my last post – which introduced this blog’s Summer Season of Carry On-ness – it’s time for us, each and every one of us, to collectively gird our loins as George’s Journal throws itself, like a randy Sid James into a harem of buxom beauties, into an arguably incongruous, maybe inexplicable, almost certainly inglorious Carry On-athon.

Yes, that’s right, it’s the opening salvo of a dedicated viewing, reviewing, rating and ranking of each and every entry in the all-time most popular British comedy movie series, which focuses on its first four flicks – Carry On Sergeant, Carry On Nurse, Carry On Teacher and Carry On Constable. And with that then, folks, it’s chocks away! (As they may well have said in Carry On Flying, had they ever made a film taking the p*ss out of Ryanair)… . How it works: The ‘Carry On-athon’ takes in all 29 cinematically released Carry On films, chronologically from Carry On Sergeant (1958) right through to Carry On Emmannuelle (1978), excluding the compilation-clip-comprising That’s Carry On!

(1977) and Carry On Columbus (1992), whose inclusion in the original series might be said to be a bit tenuous The reviews consist of 10 categories or movie facets, the inclusion of which tend to define a Carry On film as a Carry On film (‘the regulars’; ‘the crumpet’; ‘the setting’; ‘the plot’; ‘sauciness’; ‘cross-dressing’; ‘catchphrases’; ‘character names’; ‘music’ and ‘overall amusement’), each of which are rated out of 10, thus giving the film in question a rating out of 100, which ensures all 29 films can be properly ranked – the ratings are made up of ‘Boggles’, after Sid Boggle, Sid James’s utterly iconic character from Carry On Camping (1969) There’s also an ‘Adjuster’ for each film’s rating (up to plus or minus 10 ‘Boggles’) to give as fair as possible a score according to its overall quality as a film. . Contemporary (late ’50s) Britain; sending up British National Service . .

The plot Being just one bunch of new recruits away from retirement, platoon trainer Sergeant Grimshaw (William Hartnell) makes a bet with his army pals his final group will be the one that earns him the single thing that’s eluded him his entire career – the ‘champion’ platoon plaudit come the barracks’ turn-out parade. His wager and peace of mind look doomed, though, immediately he meets his recruits, which include an educated snob (Williams), an effeminate waste-of-space (Hawtrey), a smoothie womaniser (Longdon), a hapless hypochondriac (Connor) – whom visits the barracks’ doctor (Jacques) daily – and a lovelorn unfortunate (Bob Monkhouse – yep, that Bob Monkhouse) whose primary concern is to consummate his marriage with his sweetheart (Eaton), having been somehow called up on the day of his wedding. . . Would you like sauce with that? The very first Carry On isn’t really about sex at all (excusing Monkhouse and Eaton’s clumsy clandestine attempts at becoming lovers as well as man and wife in the film’s first third – and even that’s subtlely handled), thus bawdy humour is barely present at all.

Which, in its way, is actually somewhat refreshing for a comedy featuring several Carry On legends. Indeed, for right or wrong, it’s not even hinted at that Hawtrey’s character may actually be gay, while we only have Longdon’s word for it he’s a ladies’ man. Connor does deliver a good old ‘Corrr!’ at one point, mind. . . Cross-dressing to impress? The closest Sergeant gets to cross-dressing is the moment in the flick when the new recruits are supplied with their drab khaki-dominated kit and forced to dress-up as soldiers for the first time; almost symbolically suggesting, and smartly so, that from this point on there’s no way back – they’re definitely, as Status Quo would put it, in the army now. . Sergeant Grimshaw (Hartnell); Horace Strong (Connor); Charlie Sage (Monkhouse); Peter Golightly (Hawtrey); Captain Potts (Eric Barker); Corporal Copping (Bill Owen) . . Plum notes or bum notes? Suitably marching-band-based, the score from Bruce Montgomery (whom, incidentally, was also a successful crime novelist) was performed by the Coldstream Guards.

Its light martial-mocking style fits the setting and content perfectly and, it must be said, the main theme itself is amiable and memorable – even adding an effective slice of sentiment to the proceedings (not least the final scene). . . Do carry on or titter ye not? Compared to (or, rather, contrasted with) the vast majority of Carry On entries, Sergeant’s humour is particularly mild and understated; if one were being cruel they might say it’s subdued. That’s not to say it’s either subtle or high-brow, but it’s light-years away from the loveably bawdy, broad-brushstroke stuff for which the series would become notable in years to come. It’s also very inoffensive – definitely by today’s standards – lightly sending up, as it does, British Army culture and traditions rather than out-right mocking or trying to satirise them. All the same, Barker’s easily distracted, plummy captain is good value, as are undoubtedly the quartet who’d go on to become Carry On regulars. . .

Adjuster: +8 Arguably not even the Carry On film in its genesis, Sergeant is nonetheless a perfectly likeable comedy, nicely and sparsely telling its tale of a a rag-tag band of martial misfits whom, come the climax, might just be able to pull off the impossible and do their superiors – and themselves – proud. As you’d expect, Williams, Hawtrey, Connor and Jacques pass-out with highest honours, but there’s also an effective, nay pleasantly surprising, light emotional punch come the very end. Total Boggles: . The best bit Connor being put through a conveyor belt of medical examinations by Jacques to discover that he is, indeed, absolutely fit as a fiddle; possibly a perfect physical specimen . Barker: “What’s the first thing that comes into your head?”/ Longdon: “Women, sir”/ Barker: “You’re a soldier by tradition and instinct” . Trivia Originally based on the novel The Bull Boys by R. F.

Delderfield, Sergeant was never at all intended as the opener to a film series – indeed, its title derives from a common army saying Hartnell was familiar to audiences for playing a sergeant major in the popular ITV sitcom The Army Game (1957-61), which co-starred Hawtrey and future Carry On regular Bernard Bresslaw; the former would, of course, go on to achieve immortality as the original TARDIS dweller in Doctor Who Although Sergeant was the first Carry On film, by coincidence a movie named Carry On Admiral had been released just one year earlier (starring Mary Poppins’ David Tomlinson and James Bond’s Eunice Gayson, as well as future Carry On-er Joan Sims) and in 1937 a film called Carry On London, whose cast had featured Eric Barker Sergeant hit a high of #3 at the UK box-office, ensuring it would be followed by… . Contemporary (late ’50s) Britain; specifically a men’s hospital ward, sending up the NHS . .

The plot Newspaperman Longdon checks himself into an NHS hospital to have his appendix out, in doing so being immediately struck by his ward’s beautiful Staff Nurse (Eaton) and getting to know those occupying the other beds – a high-minded intellectual (Williams), a boxer who’s broken his hand (Connor), a fey radio obsessive (Hawtrey), a labourer with a broken leg (Owen), a City banker (Chamberlain) and a gambling old Colonel in his own room (Wilfred Hyde White). In time, they’re joined by a lothario (Phillips), whom is desperate to have his operation as soon as possible to make a rendezvous with his latest paramour (Whitfield). All the while, the gang are looked after by the ward’s nurses (Sims, Stephen, Hickson, Beaumont and Firbank), whom live in fear of the formidable Matron’s (Jacques) daily round. . . Would you like sauce with that? Contrasted with its forerunner Carry On Sergeant, there’s noticeably franker fruity moments in Nurse.

For instance, there’s no question what Sims is talking about when she comments that Longdon’s ‘a big boy’ as she helps him into the bath and we get a shot of his feet. And, of course, there’s that famous final scene in which the nursing staff get their own back on Hyde White’s pestiferous Colonel by ‘taking his temperature’ via the insertion of a daffodil into his you know what. This is a family film and it’s the late ’50s, so we don’t see anything, of course, but back then it certainly wouldn’t have been a joke for prudes. . . Cross-dressing to impress? Just two films into the series and we get our first man-dressed-as-a-woman and, don’t doubt it, it’s a memorable one, coming as it does during the sequence when the boys surreptiously attempt to perform Phillips’ operation during the night and, as part of the scheme, Hawtrey dons the night nurse’s uniform, sitting in her place on the ward as a lookout. Indeed, he appears to be in his element, even happily stepping forward when the plan’s foiled and a superior calls ‘Nurse!’, momentarily forgetting who he is. .

‘Stop messin’/ muckin’ about!’ (Williams): 1/ ‘Corrr!’ (Connor): 3/ ‘Ding, dong!’ (Phillips): 2 . . Marvellous monikers Oliver Reckitt (Williams); Humphrey Hinton (Hawtrey); Bernie Bishop (Connor); Dorothy Denton (Eaton); Percy Hickson (Owen); Student Nurse Nightingale (Knight) . . Plum notes or bum notes? As it would be for practically the entire series to come, the Carry On scoring goes full orchestral here – and Montgomery suitably injects a playfulness to proceedings; rightly so too, especially for the farcical moments. Also, the sentimental theme from Sergeant makes a welcome reappearance in the more romantic scenes (basically those between Longdon and Eaton). . . Do carry on or titter ye not? If Sergeant maybe doesn’t properly feel like the first Carry On, then Nurse is closer to the mark. Why? Well, for one thing, there’s more malarkey.

The humour’s far from dominated by farce, but there’s more physical farce (often at the centre of which Sims is terrific in her debut as a put-upon, clownish nurse), while as mentioned above there’s bawdier gags too. The wit isn’t bad either, thanks in no small part to the sheer class of Hyde White and Jacques in her first Matron role – in short, she’s brilliant. Of course. . . Adjuster: +3 Upping the innuendo ante, the slapstick and the totty quotient compared to Sergeant, Nurse is a highlight of the early Carry Ons. Like its predecessor, a genuine affection and respect for its subject matter (the nursing profession) underlines all the humour and admirably so, yet it doesn’t quite pull off its scatter-gun approach to storytelling – the lack of a satisfying resolution for all in the character ensemble does grate a little in a movie more rigid and less absurd than, save Sergeant, any other in the series. All the same, Nurse is eminently entertaining and ably comes up smelling of, yes, daffodils. Total Boggles: .

The best bit Jacques’ Matron brushing off being put in her place by Williams’ reasoning over her pernickety ward rules by ordering Hickson’s sister to carry out a pointless task, which – irritating each nurse – gets passed down the chain of command to Sims, whom can only take out her grievance by having a go at the lowest of the low, Mick the orderly . Eaton: “Mr Bell?”/ Phillips: “Ding dong, you’re not wrong!” .

Trivia Nurse was based on a play entitled Ring For Catty written by Jack Beale and Patrick Cargill, the latter would later play the lead in the ITV sitcom Father, Dear Father (1968-73) It’s believed Nurse is the most successful – or, at least, on its release, the most popular – Carry On effort, thanks to achieving in excess of 10 million cinema admissions, which ensured it was 1959’s #1 film at the UK box-office; it made $1.5 million on release in the US The movie actually features Bernard Bresslaw’s debut in the series – uncredited, his feet double as Longdon’s when the latter’s character stands in a bath She may make her first Carry On appearance here, but June Whitfield wouldn’t make another in the series until Carry On Abroad – a full 14 years later. . Contemporary (late ’50s) Britain; sending up the teaching profession and schools in general . .

The plot William ‘Wakey’ Wakefield (Ted Ray) is acting headmaster of Maudlin Street Secondary Modern and, nearing the end of the year, has his sights set on moving to the countryside to become head of a new school. To achieve his aim, he requires his teachers to demonstrate they can ably handle the student body during an end-of-term, week-long visit by school inspectors (Phillips and Knight). Wakefield’s staff – numbering a literary snob of an English teacher (Williams), a self-composing music teacher (Hawtrey), a hard-discipline advocate of a Maths teacher (Jacques), a word-muddling but resourceful science teacher (Connor) and a rather nubile, enthusiastic PE teacher (Sims) – assure him there’ll be no hiccups, yet reckon without the inexplicable act of sabotage the pupils enact as soon as the inspectors arrive. . . Would you like sauce with that? Despite its setting (thus ensuring more than half of the cast are adolescents), Teacher manages to push the sauciness a notch higher than the series’ first two entries.

This most memorably concerns Sims’ flirting with Phillips via (at least for the early Carry Ons) pretty overt innuendos – see video clip below. However, Williams’ English Lit class deliberately goading him by demanding to know why the potentially sexy bits in Romeo And Juliet have been removed from school study (imagine that happening today!) is also arguably franker stuff – albeit in a wordy, smart way – than we’ve so far encountered. . . Cross-dressing to impress? Zilch. Although there is decent clothing-related humour with Sims ripping her over-tight gym shorts – again see the video clip below. And the younger members of the cast all get dressed up in Shakespearean-esque garb to perform their disastrous play in the film’s final third, but, yes, to say that’s, like those gym shorts, stretching it in this category is putting it mildly. . Edwin Milton (Williams); Michael Bean (Hawtrey); Grace Short (Jacques); Sarah Allcock (Sims); Alistair Grigg (Phillips) . . Plum notes or bum notes?

A big score here because, three films in, we finally get the classic Carry On theme , which would become synonymous with pretty much the whole of the rest of the series, making its debut over this movie’s opening titles. Elsewhere, Montgomery does a decent job, for sure – the outbreak of a rumba-inspired melody during the major characters’ ‘itching dance’ is inspired. . . Do carry on or titter ye not? I’ll be honest, in watching all the Carry Ons in chronological order as I am (or at least having started to), it wasn’t until I reached Teacher that I had my first genuine guffaw. Contrasted with its two predecessors, this one then certainly has laugh-out-loud bits – in addition to the fine smirk-worthy moments that generally characterise this series in its genesis. To wit, the five regulars inadvertently getting nissed as pewts and the itching outbreak in the headmaster’s office are slapstick of the highest order. . .

Adjuster: +10 Far from ridiculous, Teacher nonetheless escalates the level of absurdity in the Carry On comedy brand (the lack of despair, let alone discipline in response to the school kids’ ever more destructive and disrputive pranks is a bit incongurous), but, hey, this is Carry On and the leads are clearly becoming more relaxed and, thus, truly starting to bring out the best in each other. Moreover, throwing into the plot a pair of school inspectors (whom have differing views on child psychology and teaching philosophy) adds a level of sophistication to proceedings that helps ensure this isn’t just Carry On St. Trinian’s. Total Boggles: . The best bit Connor’s pet project, a scale-sized rocket, unexpectedly blasting off up through the school lab’s ceiling . Jacques: “There’s only one thing to do – whack!”/ Williams: “Extraordinary theory – you bend a child double in order to get an upright character” .

Trivia Teacher’s setting, Maudlin Street Secondary Modern School (which was really Drayton Green Primary School in Ealing), is alluded to in former Smiths frontman Morrisey’s song Late Night, Maudlin Steet (1988) – Morrisey is a self-confessed lifelong fan of Charles Hawtrey Star-to-be of ITV sitcom Man About The House (1973-76) Richard O’Sullivan appears as one of the school’s pupils, Robin Stevens, the leader of the ‘Saboteurs’, while Carol White – whom would achieve iconoclasm a few years later as the lead in Ken Loach’s classic TV film Cathy Come Home (1966) – plays his cohort Sheila Gale Future actress Francesca Annis, who would become a fixture with the RSC and memorably appear on the big screen in Dune (1984), apparently appears as an extra in the climactic crowd scene. . Contemporary (early ’60s) Britain; sending up the UK police force . .

The plot Short-staffed owing to a flu outbreak, a police station is forced to call on the services of five brand new constables – a would-be-intellectual with delusions of grandeur (Williams), a posh former playboy (Phillips), a superstitious paranoiac (Connor), an effeminate special constable (Hawtrey) and an efficient female PC (Sims). Threatened by the station’s bumbling chief (Barker) with transferral unless performance improves, the new recruits’ sergeant (James) fears for his future and his worries are soon realised as the useless newbies predictably muck things up – unwittingly asking burglars the way to the station, losing control of the police dog and walking in on and acting as counsellor to a bombshell (Eaton) over her marriage fears. Can the plucky quartet put things right before they get the boot? . . Would you like sauce with that?

Constable doesn’t necessarily offer more in the way of innuendos than immediate predecessor Carry On Teacher, but does push up the sauce-o-meter reading thanks to Shirley Eaton’s introduction being merely her bare back as she stands up in a bath and most famously, the sight of Williams, Hawtrey, Connor and Phillip’s posteriors as they run screaming from an unexpectedly cold shower – note: this is the very first instance of nudity in the series. And, actually, coming back to the innuendos, there are one or two top ones (read ‘the best line’ below; Sims’ response to Hickson viewing the parade of bare behinds). . . Cross-dressing to impress? One may argue the great Carry On tradition of cross-dressing really begins here, as an entire sequence seems to have been conceived and executed to raise transvestic laughs – Williams and Hawtrey going undercover as women to catch department store thieves red-handed, resulting in them accidentally shoplifting and having to make a run for it. In fact, so at ease do they seem playing dress-up, it feels like the filmmakers are indulging the pair.

No question, after this there was no going back – any future Carry On in which all men were dressed as men at all times would be a cause for disappointment. . . Marvellous monikers Special Constable Timothy Gorse (Hawtrey); Sergeant Laura Moon (Jacques); Constable Charlie Constable (Connor); WPC Gloria Passworthy (Sims); PC Tom Potter (Phillips); Herbert Hall (Longdon) . . Plum notes or bum notes? Montgomery’s work is perfunctory this time really; maybe the only really memorable bit being the fun ‘plodding’ cue as the constables march in line, starting their rounds of the neighbourhood under the watchful eye of James’s sergeant. Although, another Carry On tradition is arguably set thanks to this score, with the welcome reuse of the main theme established in Teacher – again, it would rightly reappear over and again throughout the rest of the series. . . Do carry on or titter ye not?

Increasingly unbelievable though the new recruits’ attempts at being proper policemen may be, there’s no question they usually hit the funny bone – even if the idea of Hawtrey finding the urge to have a go on a scooter just too much to resist is ridiculous. And, yes, Connor’s astrological anxieties may become a little one-note, but James’s exacerbation at his hapless inferiors and crap superior is finely judged and very smirk-worthy, while Hickson’s regularly incarcerated, well-to-do intoxicator is great value. . . Adjuster: +3 Arguably the most memorable opening era Carry On for two reasons – its bare-faced cheek of showing bare cheeks in an early ’60s family comedy and its featuring a totally solid-debuting Sid James as its lead – Constable’s also a success because it ups the funnies and the bawdiness and delivers a satisfying conclusion. It’s a fair cop, guv – as it entered the ’60s, the Carry On brand was developing nicely. Total Boggles: .

The best bit Sims arrives on her first day having already arrested Hickson’s local alcoholic, whom requests her favourite cell in the basement – only to witness the station’s staff scarpering starkers from the shower . Sims: “Well you did ask for a cell with a southern exposure” . Trivia The lead role of Sergeant Wilkins was intended for Ted Ray, whom had played the main character in directly preceding film Carry On Teacher, yet Ray was under contract to ABC – a rival UK studio to Anglo-Amalgamated, maker of the the Carry Ons – and, as ABC wouldn’t release Ray a second time, Sid James was cast, thus beginning his long, iconic association with the series Screenwriter Hudis drew inspiration for his script from a real flu outbreak at Slough police station, which had occurred during a visit he’d made there for inspiration. .

Carry On Sergeant [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: William Hartnell, Bill Owen, Bob Monkhouse, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, Shirley Eaton, Hattie Jacques, Gerald Campion, Cyril Chamberlain, Basil Dignam, Frank Forsyth, John Gatrell, Terence Longdon, Gordon Tanner, Gerald Thomas, Peter Rogers: DVD & Blu-ray Carry On Sergeant [DVD] Promotion Message Promotion Available 1 Promotion(s) Only 6 left in stock (more on the way). Want it delivered by Tuesday, 24 Jan.? Order within 5 hrs 49 mins and choose AmazonGlobal Priority at checkout. Details Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available. Note: This item is eligible for click and collect. Details Pick up your parcel at a time and place that suits you. Choose from over 13,000 locations across the UK Prime members get unlimited deliveries at no additional cost How to order to an Amazon Pickup Location? Find your preferred location and add it to your address book Dispatch to this address when you check out Â£5.99 & FREE Delivery in the UK on orders dispatched by Amazon over Â£20.

Details Only 6 left in stock (more on the way). Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available. Special Offers and Product Promotions Enjoy Â£1.00 credit to spend on movies or TV on Amazon Video when you purchase a DVD or Blu-ray offered by Amazon.co.uk. A maximum of 1 credit per customer applies. UK customers only. Offer ends at 23:59 GMT on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 Here's how (terms and conditions apply) Frequently Bought Together Add all three to Basket These items are dispatched from and sold by different sellers. Show details Buy the selected items together This item:Carry On Sergeant [DVD] by William Hartnell DVD Â£5.99 Only 6 left in stock (more on the way). Sent from and sold by Amazon. FREE Delivery on orders over Â£20. Details Carry On Constable [DVD] by Sid James DVD Â£7.69 Only 1 left in stock (more on the way). Sent from and sold by Amazon. FREE Delivery on orders over Â£20. Details Carry On Nurse [DVD] by Kenneth Williams DVD Â£4.00 Only 2 left in stock.

Sold by 247dvd and sent from Amazon Fulfillment. FREE Delivery on orders over Â£20. Details What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item? Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, PAL, Widescreen Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats. ) Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.78:1 DVD Release Date: 29 Jan. 2007 Run Time: 81 minutes Product Description Product Description This farce, about a sergeant (William Hartnell) who takes a bet that the last recruits he trains will win the 'Star Squad' award, was the first in what was to become a long and popular series. Inept recruits include Bob Monkhouse, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Kenneth Connor. From Amazon.co.uk The first of the Carry On movies, 1958's Sergeant is rather different from its successors, much more a film of its time (the latter days of National Service) and rather less a bawdy picture postcard.

Sergeant Grimshaw (William Hartnell long before Doctor Who) is about to retire and hopes that he can get his last platoon into shape as Champion Platoon of its intake. Unfortunately, the new recruits include the clumsy Golightly (Charles Hawtrey), the barrack-room lawyer Bailey (Kenneth Williams) and the hypochondriac Horace Strong (Kenneth Connor). Love interest is provided by Bob Monkhouse and Shirley Eaton--newlyweds separated by the call-up and reunited by her taking a job in the canteen--and by the pursuit of Horace by Dora Bryan's Nora. The film relies heavily on a mixture of slapstick and paradoxical revelations of character complexity--the obnoxious Bailey nonetheless takes the trouble to coach the incorrigibly dense Herbert (Norman Rossington); the series' later obsession with low comedy only really emerges in the scenes between Horace and the medic Captain Clark (Hattie Jacques). The platoon's eventual coming together as other than total incompetents is predictable, but likable.

On the DVD: The DVD has no frills whatever except for a widescreen picture and chapter selections; it has been cleaned up however so that we get a remarkably crisp mono picture and mono sound, which brings out the quality of the military-band score by Bruce Montgomery, who was also the writer Edmund Crispin. --Roz Kaveney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1 This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Question: Which ‘Doctor Who’ played the title character in the film Carry On Sergeant?
Answer: William Hartnell